Regulations of the Acceleration Program

Below you can find the terms and conditions for each acceleration track within the StartSmart CEE program. The documents are organized as follows:

Terms & Conditions for Go Global and Pilot Ready – Booster
- This track is part of the SmartUp program powered by StartSmart CEE.
- The program is co-financed by the European Funds for a Modern Economy (FENG) under the Startup Booster Poland – Smart UP measure, implemented by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP).
Terms & Conditions for #ReThink Academy and Pilot Ready track

Please review each document for detailed information on the specific terms and conditions applicable to each track.

Regulations of the START SMART CEE Accelerator Programme tracks: Go Global and Pilot Ready – Booster as part of the programme SmartUp powered by StartSmart CEE

These Regulations establish the rules for recruitment and participation in the individual startup acceleration programme “STARTSMART CEE”, in variants:

Pilot Ready Booster – (Acceleration industry track of startups with a business and/or public partner (B2B/B2A) implemented in the framework of the project “SmartUp powered by StartSmart CEE” with the participation of grant funding,
Go Global – implemented as part of the project “SmartUp powered by StartSmart CEE”. involving grant funding.

§ 1. Definitions

Whenever the Regulations refer to:

Email address – means the email address for correspondence between the Applicant/Startup and the Foundation indicated in the Application;
Acceleration – it should be understood as the entirety of the activities carried out towards the Startup within the Programme;
Applicant – means the entity that submits the Application;
Demoday – should be understood as a cyclical event organised by the Foundation, during which selected Startups will present the effects of their work, further business and financial assumptions of their Idea;
Foundation – it should be understood as the Technology Entrepreneurship Foundation with its seat in Warsaw, at al. Armii Ludowej 26, 00-609 Warsaw entered in the register of entrepreneurs and the register of other social and professional organisations, foundations and independent public health care institutions of the National Court Register under the number 0000566188, NIP: 5252623890, REGON: 362028771, being the organizer and operator of the Programme;
Founder – shall mean CVC ADVISERS (POLAND) spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością with its registered office in Warsaw, pl. S. Małachowskiego 2, 00-066 Warsaw, entered in the register of entrepreneurs of the National Court Register under the number 0000559826, NIP: 5223030302, REGON: 361615130;
Grant – means assistance in the form of funds provided to a Startup under the Booster and/or Go Global Programme, in accordance with the provisions of the Acceleration Agreement concluded with the Startup and the Foundation, for the purpose of developing the Idea; the Grant constitutes de minimis aid to the Startup;
Individual Acceleration Plan – shall mean a plan of work of the Foundation with a given Startup and/or the Foundation and a Business Partner with a given Startup, lasting no longer than 6 months from the date of conclusion of the Acceleration Agreement and encompassing professional activities leading to the development of a product/service of a Startup, aimed at: (i) in the Pilot Ready Booster path – enabling pilot implementation of the Startup’s solution at the Business Partner; (ii) in the Go Global path – introducing the Startup’s product/service on a selected foreign market;
Confidential Information – means any information in any form (including, but not limited to, oral, written, electronic) provided in connection with the Programme which is marked as confidential and/or where the circumstances of its disclosure indicate that it is so, including trade secrets, relating to a party and/or Startup, their client or counterparty, and in particular any information relating to:

Idea;
activities, planned activities, ongoing and/or negotiated projects;
technology;
financial situation;
customers and/or contractors of the party;
the performance of the Acceleration Agreement.

Confidential Information does not include information that (i) is contained in an Application (ii) is or becomes publicly available, unless it becomes publicly available as a result of a party’s breach of its obligations under the Regulations or the Acceleration Agreement, (iii) was already in the possession of a party at the time of disclosure without a duty of confidence and without breach of the Regulations or the Acceleration Agreement, (iv) is made available to a party from any source, provided that such source is not bound by an obligation of confidentiality to the disclosing party with respect to such information, and/or (v) to which the party to whom such information relates has consented to disclosure;

Milestone – shall mean a planned, measurable, observable event, necessary for the progress of the Programme in the Pilot Ready Booster and/or Go Global paths, the occurrence of which makes it possible to assess whether a Startup can implement the next of the Acceleration activities. In the case of the Pilot Ready Booster Programme, Milestones allow for the assessment and confirmation of a significant change in the process, development of a Startup’s product (including service) and/or technology in collaboration with the relevant Business Partner, providing the conditions for the completion of the development process with the validation of the development object and/or its key elements in a near real-world environment.
Key Areas of Specialisation – shall mean industries preferred within the Pilot Ready Booster and Go Global tracks, in accordance with the List of National Smart Specialisations, i.e.:

KIS 10: Information, Communication and Geoinformation Technologies;
KIS 11: Automation and robotics;
KIS 1: Healthy Society;

Steering Committee – it should be understood as a body supporting the management of the Programme, where the course of the Programme is monitored and key decisions regarding the selection of Startups for the Programme are made. The Steering Committee is composed of persons managing the Foundation, delegated experts, representatives of Business Partners. The Steering Committee is chaired by a person delegated by the Board of the Foundation;
Competition – means the competition named: “CVC Young Innovator Awards” organised by the Foundation in cooperation with the Founder, the aim of which is to identify the Idea with the greatest market potential, the implementation of which will bring the greatest social benefits. The competition is addressed to Startups that meet the conditions set out in the Regulations;
Microentrepreneurs and/or Small Entrepreneurs – mean a microentrepreneur or small entrepreneur meeting the conditions set out in Annex I to Commission Regulation No. 651/2014;
Business Partner – means an entrepreneur interested in using the technology and/or cooperating in the development of products (including services) of Startups participating in Acceleration in the variant Pilot Ready Booster; Business Partners in the Acceleration Programme act as Technology Recipients (e.g. large and/or medium-sized enterprises, local government units, public sector units); Business Partners have the resources and potential to increase the chances of rapid development of the activity of Startups participating in the Acceleration Programme;
Idea – the Startup project described in the Application; for Startups applying under the Pilot Ready Booster path, the Idea should be at least at the MVP stage;
Pilot Ready Booster – means the stage of the Partner’s cooperation with the Startup with the support of the Foundation, which will include activities aimed at pilot implementation and/or commercialisation of the Startup Idea, including through: (i) sale of rights to the Idea; (ii) granting of a licence; (iii) conclusion of a binding agreement defining the terms of profit participation from the Idea; (iv) introduction of the Idea to the market; (v) other forms of implementation and commercialisation specified in the PoC implementation Plan and individual agreements concluded directly with the Partner;
Programme / Acceleration Programme – means an acceleration programme which aims to (i) enable, support and organise cooperation between Startups and the Partner in the field of innovation and in thematic areas relevant to the development of the Partner’s and Startup’s business (Pilot Ready Booster), and/or (ii) provide Startup with training and mentoring and to support Startup’s international expansion in selected international markets;
Booster Programme / Pilot Ready Booster / “SmartUp powered by StartSmart CEE” – means the Acceleration Programme implemented by the Foundation for Technological Entrepreneurship in cooperation with Industry Partners for Startups developing technologies in the industry areas specified in the application for funding and in accordance with the activities of the Programme Partners, whose aim is to promote and provide support for the implementation of technology projects, co-financed from the funds of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development under the Programme European Funds for Modern Economy, Priority II – Innovation-friendly environment, Measure 2.28 Startup Booster Poland – Smart UP;
Go Global / Go Global Programme – means the Acceleration Programme, the aim of which is to provide Startup with training and mentoring as well as support in the Startup’s international expansion on selected international markets. The Go Global Programme is co-financed by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development as part of the European Funds for Modern Economy Programme, Priority II – Innovation-friendly environment, Measure 2.28 Startup Booster Poland – Smart UP;
Regulations – mean these Regulations of the Foundation’s Accelerator Programme defining the rules of recruitment and participation of projects in the Programme, available at: www.startsmartcee.org;
Commission Regulation No. 651/2014 – means Commission Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain types of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty (Official Journal of the EU L 187 of 26.06.2014, p. 1 as amended);
Commission Regulation 2023/2831 – means Commission Regulation (EU). 2023/2831 of 13 December 2023 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid;
PARP/FENG Ordinance – should be understood as the Ordinance of the Minister of Funds and Regional Policy of 7 November 2022 on granting financial aid by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development under the programme European Funds for Modern Economy 2021-2027 (Journal of Laws of 2023, item 1106, as amended);
Startup – is understood to be a capital company, registered in the relevant register, with the status of Microentrepreneur and/or Small Entrepreneur;
Participant – means an individual from the Startup team enrolled by Startup to participate in the Programme;
Acceleration Agreement – an agreement concluded between a Startup and the Foundation for participation in the Programme, specifying the terms and conditions of such participation and the rules of implementation of the Programme. The Acceleration Agreement is the basis for participation in the Programme, it also defines the terms of payment of the Grant;
PARP Act – means the Act of 9 November 2000 on the establishment of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 419);
Implementation Act – it should be understood as the Act of 28 April 2022 on the principles of implementation of tasks financed from European funds in the financial perspective 2021-2027 (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 1079, as amended);
Application – should be understood as the application form filled in with data, submitted via the recruitment platform on startsmartcee.org, together with the presentation of the Idea in the form of original presentation, description, multimedia material and/or a combination of the aforementioned forms. The content of the Application must allow for an evaluation in accordance with the Programme’s ideas’ selection criteria.

§ 2. General provisions

The aim of the Programme is to accelerate the development of Startups by promoting and supporting Startups in the implementation of technology projects.
The Programme is implemented in two variants: Pilot Ready Booster and Go Global. A Startup is eligible to apply for participation in the Programme in any of the above variants. Eligibility of Startups for a particular variant of the Programme is decided each time by the Foundation (in the Pilot Ready Booster variant – after receiving a positive decision in this regard from the Business Partner).
Programme in variants Pilot Ready Booster and Go Global is co-financed from the funds of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development under the Programme European Funds for Modern Economy, Priority II – Innovation-friendly environment, Measure 2.28 Startup Booster Poland – Smart UP. The resulting Grant constitutes de minimis aid to which the provisions of Commission Regulation 2023/2831 apply. In order to apply for a Grant under the Booster and/or Go Global Programme, Startup is obliged to meet additional criteria specified in these Regulations.
The programme in the Go Global variant is aimed at preparing Startups for expansion on a selected foreign market. In the Go Global Programme, a Startup receives a Grant.
Participation in the Programme is open to entities selected through an open call. For each edition of the Programme there will be individual deadlines for receipt of Applications. The Foundation also envisages the possibility of announcing separate calls for particular variants of the Programme.
Programme in variants Pilot Ready Booster and Go Global is co-financed from the funds of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development under the Programme European Funds for Modern Economy, Priority II – Innovation-friendly environment, Measure 2.28 Startup Booster Poland – Smart UP. The resulting Grant constitutes de minimis aid to which the provisions of Commission Regulation No. 1407/2013 apply. In order to apply for a Grant under the Booster and/or Go Global Programme, Startup is obliged to meet additional criteria specified in these Regulations.
The premise of the Booster Programme is for Startups to implement an Individual Acceleration Plan in a variant with a Business Partner: Technology Recipient.
The premise of the Go Global Programme is for a Startup to implement an Individual Acceleration Plan to enable the launch of the Startup’s product/service on a selected foreign market.

§ 3. Entities eligible to participate in the Programme

Programme variant Pilot Ready Booster or Go Global is aimed at an entity that:
1. meets the definition of Applicant;
2. meets the definition of a Startup at the time of signing the Acceleration Agreement;
3. fulfils the prerequisites referred to in Article 41(3) of the Implementation Act;
4. meets the conditions set out in Article 22 of Commission Regulation No. 651/2014;
5. has a registered business activity in the territory of the Republic of Poland confirmed by an entry in the relevant register, in the form of a capital company;
6. has not been listed on the stock exchange and remains within 5 years of the date of registration with the National Court Register, and has not yet made a profit distribution and has not been formed as a result of a merger;
7. is entitled to de minimis aid under the terms of Commission Regulation 2023/2831;
8. meets the conditions set out in § 19 of the PARP/FENG Ordinance;
9. is not affiliated with the Foundation, an entity providing services to the Foundation as part of the Programme within the meaning of Article 6c(2) of the PARP Act, and, only in the case of Startups starting in the Booster path: a Business Partner who will be involved in the implementation of the Programme;
10. has the status of a Microentrepreneur and/or Small Entrepreneur;
11. carries out its activities in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and the rules for the conduct of those activities do not violate the provisions of the Regulations and the Acceleration Agreement;
12. owns the exclusive copyright in the Idea, including in particular the right to dispose of it in an unrestricted manner, and the Idea is free of any legal encumbrances and security interests;
13. neither the Idea nor its implementation infringes or will result in infringement of the rights of any third party, applicable law, any contract and/or agreement, and the Idea and its implementation will not require the consent of any third party under any contract and/or agreement. If the consent of any body of the Startup is required for participation in the Programme, the Applicant shall ensure that such consent is obtained no later than on the date of submission of the Application;
14. is in possession of all permits, concessions and other approvals of public administration authorities and has registered in the relevant registers in accordance with the applicable laws in order to carry out activities related to the implementation of the Programme;
15. for Startups participating in the Go Global track only: is able to identify 2 Participants who meet the legal conditions for travelling to [USA/Germany] for the Bootcamp (in particular with regard to visa obligations).
An entity will not qualify for the Programme, or if these circumstances become apparent after qualifying for the Programme, will be disqualified:
1. whose member of the management bodies has been sentenced by a final court decision for an offence of making false statements, bribery, an offence against property, reliability of documents, money and securities trading, the economic system, the banking system, criminal fiscal offence or an offence related to the performance of business activities or committed for the purpose of obtaining material benefits;
2. which is in arrears with its public-law debts and/or is under receivership or is in the course of liquidation and/or has applied for a suspension of its activities;
3. against whom the prohibition referred to in art. 12 par. 1 point 1 of the Act of 15 June 2012 on the effects of delegating work to foreigners unlawfully residing on the territory of the Republic of Poland (Journal of Laws of 2021. item 1745) or the prohibition referred to in Article 9(1)(2a) of the Act of 28 October 2002 on liability of collective entities for acts prohibited under penalty (Journal of Laws of 2023, item 659, as amended);
4. which is in difficulty within the meaning of EU state aid rules, in particular Commission Regulation No. 651/2014, including is in a state of insolvency, has filed and/or has been filed with respect to it a bankruptcy petition, has filed an application for the opening of restructuring proceedings and/or has been filed with respect to it an application for the opening of restructuring proceedings;
5. which is in liquidation and/or has requested the suspension of its activities;
6. if a receivership and/or guardianship of the legal entity has been established for it;
7. in respect of which there is reasonable doubt as to the ownership of the rights to dispose of the Idea submitted in the Application and/or is the subject of a dispute, security and/or claim by any third party;
8. which is excluded from the possibility of receiving funding in particular:
  1. on the basis of Article 6b(3) of the PARP Act;
  2. in accordance with Article 41(4) of the Implementation Act;
  3. on the basis of Article 207 of the Public Finance Act of 27 August 2009;
9. which is under an obligation to repay the aid resulting from a decision of the European Commission declaring the aid illegal and incompatible with the internal market;
10. in the cases indicated in § 6(4) and (10) of the PARP/FENG Ordinance and in Article 3(3) of EP and Council Regulation (EU) No. 1301/2013 of 17 December 2013 on the European Regional Development Fund and specific provisions concerning the Investment for growth and jobs goal and repealing Regulation (EC) No. 1080/2006);
11. carrying out activities which are subject to exclusion from aid under the PARP/FENG Ordinance;
12. which has obtained funding for the same Idea within the framework of a call conducted by another entity implementing an accelerator programme based on funds obtained under public aid;
13. which has received funding for the same Idea from other public funds.
Financial assistance under the Booster Programme may not be provided for activities in:
1. manufacture, processing and/or marketing of tobacco and tobacco products;
2. production and/or marketing of alcoholic beverages;
3. production and/or marketing of pornographic content;
4. circulation of explosives, arms and ammunition;
5. games of chance, pari-mutuel betting, slot machine games and low-value slot machine games;
6. production and/or marketing of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or precursors.
Entrepreneurs operating in the iron and steel sector, the coal sector, the shipbuilding sector, the synthetic fibres sector, the transport sector and related infrastructure and the energy generation, distribution and infrastructure sector are also excluded from applying to the Programme.

§ 4. Notification

For each edition of the Programme, individual deadlines will be set for the receipt of Applications, which will be available at: www.startsmartcee.org. The application is made electronically by filling in the application form. Applications sent after the application deadlines will not be subject to verification within a given edition.
Submitting an application form means:
1. acceptance of the Regulations and consent to service of the Regulations and amendments to the Regulations by posting their current content at www.startsmartcee.org; In the event that the Regulations are amended after a particular Applicant has submitted an Application, the Application shall remain valid, although the Foundation reserves the right to ask the Applicant to complete the Application to the extent and by the date indicated by the Foundation;
2. a commitment to actively participate in the Programme, including workshops and trainings.
The Application must be prepared in English. Applications prepared in other languages will not be considered.
As part of the Application, Startup indicates whether it wants to implement the Programme in the option Pilot Ready Booster or Go Global. In the case of the Go Global path, the Startup’s indication is binding for both the Startup and the Foundation. Only the Startup that indicates in the Application the Go Global path can apply for participation in this variant of the Programme. The Foundation may also qualify a Startup to participate in other acceleration programmes implemented by the Foundation, which are not co-financed by the Grant.
The Applicant is obliged to make statements in the application form that are in accordance with the legal and factual situation and to disclose all documents and information concerning the Idea and the Applicant that are to be considered relevant taking into account the terms and conditions of the Programme.
The Applicant indemnifies the Foundation against any claims by third parties arising in connection with his/her Application.
The materials submitted by the Applicant with the Application become the property of the Foundation and will not be returned to the Applicant. For the avoidance of doubt, this does not apply to the intellectual property rights to the Idea, which do not pass to the Foundation.
Applications are assessed for compliance with formal criteria, in particular: the completeness and correctness of the Application, including the language in which it was drawn up, statements regarding intellectual property rights to the Idea, the status of Micro- and/or Small entrepreneur. As part of this assessment, the Foundation may call on the Applicant to provide documents confirming the fulfilment of the formal criteria, within 3 working days from the date of sending the call to the Applicant’s E-mail address. Applications that are not supplemented despite the call to supplement deficiencies will be rejected.
The Foundation reserves the possibility of cancelling the call, in particular in the event of significant changes in generally applicable law affecting the terms and conditions of the call and/or force majeure events. In such a case, the Applicant will not be entitled to claim compensation.

§ 5. Substantive evaluation of Applications

Startups’ Applications are subject to formal and factual evaluation
A positive assessment at the formal verification stage qualifies the Application for further substantive assessment. This assessment is carried out in subsequent stages. Rules for projects’ assessment in the Pilot Ready Booster and Go Global paths are separate.

§ 5a. Substantive evaluation within the Pilot Ready Booster track

In the first stage, the evaluation is carried out via Metabeta’s online platform. The evaluation is carried out by two jurors, selected from a pool of technological and business experts with knowledge and experience in project evaluation and/or relevant to the field in which the Startup operates, involved in the given edition of the Programme. The jurors evaluate the Application according to the following criteria, awarding points on a scale from 1 to 5 (where 1 means – Very bad, 2 – Bad, 3 – Average, 4 – Good, 5 – Excellent) within each criterion:
1. Problem – Is the problem clear, quantified (numerical) and proven? Does the startup understand how users currently deal with the problem? – 12% weighting.
2. Solution – Is the solution clearly explained? Are the benefits and details well understood? Does it seem feasible? Is the competitive advantage sustainable? – 12% weighting.
3. Market – Are customer segments well identified? Is the market size and growth attractive to new entrants? Are competitors well identified and understood? – 12% weighting.
4. Economics – Is the business model well defined? Are revenue streams and major costs well identified? – 12% weighting.
5. Traction & go to market – Does the company have evidence that this is a viable business (customers, revenue, growth)? Do they have a clear approach to how to get more customers? – 12% weighting.
6. Team – Do the founders have the right experience? Do their skills get complement each other? – 12% weighting.
7. Current needs – Does the startup have a clear understanding of its current needs (funding, contacts, employment) and next milestones? – 12% weighting.
8. Fit – Is the startup aligned with the programme and its partners? – 16% weighting.
Upon completion of the jury evaluation of the Applications, a ranking list of Startups is created based on the averaged scores. The ranking list is made available to representatives of Business Partners in the form of recommendations for the next stage of evaluation. The decision on the selection of Startups recommended to Business Partners rests with the Foundation. In particular, the Foundation may recommend to Business Partners the Startups, characterised by a high strategic fit with a given Business Partner, regardless of their place on the ranking list. The place on the ranking list does not determine whether or not a Startup is finally qualified for the Programme.
The next stage of evaluation of the Application is to conduct interviews with selected Startups, in the form of video and/or teleconference and/or at the Foundation’s premises and with the participation of representatives of Business Partners and/or experts of the Foundation. Participation of the Business Partner in the interview does not determine the Partner’s selection of a given Startup for further acceleration, however the possibility of inviting the Startup to the next stage of evaluation is determined by the assessment of the strategic fit with the Business Partner’s needs under criterion 3.7, i.e. there is a possibility of piloting with a Business Partner cooperating with the accelerator and/or in a pool of potential Business Partners. Interviews take the form of maximum 15-minute presentation of the Startup, followed by a question-and-answer session. Substantive evaluation at this stage consists of scoring on a scale of 1 to 5 for the following aspects of the Application and Idea:
1. Team,
  Scoring:
  1 pt: The team lacks experience, has significant competence gaps and is not aware of the competences needed.
  2 pts: The team has limited experience and partial competence gaps and is partially aware of its needs.
  3 pts: The team has relevant experience and skills, and is moderately committed.
  4 pts: The team has good experience and skills and is appropriately committed and motivated.
  5 pts: The team is very experienced, complete, has the potential to grow the company, and is very committed and motivated.
2. Uniqueness,
  Scoring:
  1 pt: Solution is a copy of existing solutions, no unique features, technology and business model are well known in the market.
  2 pts: Solution has minor differences from existing solutions, poorly demonstrates unique features.
  3 pts: The solution has some unique features, but there are similar solutions on the market.
  4 pts: The solution is unique in several aspects, with clear differentiating features from the competition.
  5 pts: The solution is highly unique, has significant barriers to entry, unique features are well identified and explained.
3. Social utility and environmental impact,
  Scoring:
  1 point: The idea has a negligible and/or low direct impact on improving people’s lives and a low impact on improving the environment.
  2 pts: The idea is partially socially useful, with moderate social impact and minimal and/or indirect contribution to environmental improvement.
  3 pts: The idea is moderately socially useful, has a positive impact on society and some contribution to improving the environment.
  4 pts: The idea is very socially useful, has significant benefits for society and a positive environmental impact.
  5 pts: The idea is highly socially useful, makes a significant difference to health and/or the environment, promotes sustainability in a direct way.
4. Feasibility,
  Scoring:
  1 pt: There are significant technological, formal and/or regulatory barriers preventing the implementation of the pilot.
  2 pts: There are significant technological, formal and/or regulatory challenges that hinder the implementation of the pilot.
  3 pts: Piloting is possible, but requires overcoming moderate technological, formal and/or regulatory challenges.
  4 pts: The pilot is feasible with few technological, formal and/or regulatory challenges.
  5 pts: The pilot is fully feasible, no significant technological, formal and/or regulatory barriers.
5. Product readiness level,
  Scoring:
  1 pt: The product is at a very early stage of development and requires further actions and adjustments.
  2 pts: The product is at an early stage and requires significant action to be ready for piloting.
  3 pts: The product is at a moderate level of readiness and requires some preparatory activities.
  4 pts: The product is at an advanced level of readiness, being almost ready for piloting.
  5 pts: The product is fully ready for implementation and requires no additional action by the partner.
6. Market potential and scalability,
  Scoring:
  1 pt: The product is not scalable, the market is small.
  2 pts: Product has limited scalability, market is moderately attractive.
  3 pts: The product is moderately scalable, the market is attractive.
  4 pts: The product is well scalable, the market is large and very attractive.
  5 pts: The product is highly scalable, the market is huge and extremely attractive.
7. Matching the needs of the business partner.
  Scoring:
  1 pt: Partner fit is very low, pilot implementation is unlikely.
  2 pts: Partner fit is limited, pilot implementation is difficult.
  3 pts: Partner fit is moderate, pilot implementation is possible.
  4 pts: Partner fit is good, pilot implementation is likely.
  5 pts: Initial assessment suggests that the startup is ideally suited to the partner’s needs, implementation of the pilot is very likely.
Invitations to attend an interview will be given a minimum of 3 (three) days in advance. If, despite at least 2 (two) attempts to schedule an interview, the Applicant fails to appear for the interview, the Foundation has the right to exclude the Applicant from the recruitment process.
The course and evaluation of the interview are mapped out in the protocol, which also indicate the industry specialisation of the Startup and the National Intelligent Specialisations within which the Idea is implemented. Interviews may furthermore be recorded in the form of audio and/or video recordings.
Selected Startups proceed to the stage of workshops with Business Partners to develop a cooperation scenario. The selection is made by the Partners together with the Foundation, guided in the first place by the possibility of potential cooperation between the Startup and a given Partner and the desire to avoid conflicts of interest (e.g. directly competing each other’s projects). A reserve list may also be created as part of the selection for this stage. Prior to the workshop, invited Startups are required to submit: (1) a declaration on meeting the Micro and/or Small entrepreneur criterion and (2) a form of information presented when applying for de minimis aid, including, inter alia, information on the Start-up’s financial performance, employment status and capital-personal links, as well as information on public funding and/or de minimis aid received to date. Specimens of the documents referred to in the preceding sentence are available at https://startsmartcee.org/. On the basis of the submitted statements and interviews conducted during the workshops, the Foundation will make a preliminary assessment if a given Start-up is eligible for a Grant under the Programme, i.e. if it meets the conditions set out in § 3 of the Regulations. An in-depth assessment of the Startup’s eligibility will take place again on the day of signing the Acceleration Agreement, in accordance with the provisions of § 6.3.
The final selection of Startups for the Programme is made by decision of the Steering Committee, within which representatives of Business Partners have a decision-making vote. In particular, the Business Partner decides whether it will pursue cooperation with the Startup within the Pilot Ready Booster path.
In order to be accepted into the Programme, the Business Partner and the selected Startup must confirm their cooperation as well as confirmation that the Startup meets the formal conditions for participation in the Programme (which are subject to further, in-depth verification at this stage).
Within 10 (ten) days of the closing date of the call, the Foundation will notify the Applicants of the results of the procedure at the E-mail address they have indicated.
The Applicant has no recourse against a negative decision on qualification for the Programme and/or refusal to conclude an Acceleration Agreement.

§ 5b. Substantive evaluation within the Go Global track

In the first stage, the evaluation is carried out via Metabeta’s online platform. The evaluation is carried out by two jurors, selected from a pool of technological and business experts with knowledge and experience in project evaluation and/or relevant to the field in which the Startup operates, involved in the given edition of the Programme. The jurors evaluate the Application according to the following criteria, awarding points on a scale from 1 to 5 (where 1 means – Very bad, 2 – Bad, 3 – Average, 4 – Good, 5 – Excellent) within each criterion:
1. Problem – Is the problem clear, quantified (numerical) and proven? Does the startup understand how users currently deal with the problem? – 12% weighting.
2. Solution – Is the solution clearly explained? Are the benefits and details well understood? Does it seem feasible? Is the competitive advantage sustainable? – 12% weighting.
3. Market – Are customer segments well identified? Is the market size and growth attractive to new entrants? Are competitors well identified and understood? – 12% weighting.
4. Economics – Is the business model well defined? Are revenue streams and major costs well identified? – 12% weighting.
5. Traction & go to market – Does the company have evidence that this is a viable business (customers, revenue, growth)? Do they have a clear approach to how to get more customers? – 12% weighting.
6. Team – Do the founders have the right experience? Do their skills complement each other? – 12% weighting.
7. Current needs – Does the startup have a clear understanding of its current needs (funding, contacts, employment) and next milestones? – 12% weighting.
8. Fit for International market – Is the startup suited to a programme of scaling to a foreign market and has provided a rationale for market selection? – 16% weighting.
Upon completion of the jury evaluation of the Applications, a ranking list of Startups is created based on the averaged scores in the form of recommendations for the next stage of evaluation. The decision on the selection of recommended Startups rests with the Foundation. The place on the ranking list is not decisive for the final qualification or not of a Startup to the Programme.
The next stage of the substantive evaluation of the Application is to conduct interviews with selected Startups, either by video and/or teleconference and/or at the Foundation’s premises and with the participation of the Foundation’s experts. The interviews take the form of a maximum 15-minute presentation of the Startup, followed by a question-and-answer session. Substantive evaluation at this stage consists in awarding points on a scale of 1 to 5 for the following aspects of the Application and Idea:
1. Maturity level of the solution and the team,
  Scoring:
  1 pt: Solution at a very early stage (idea/concept), team has limited experience and lacks core competencies. The team at the presentation presented their development capabilities insufficiently.
  2 pts: Early stage solution (prototype), team has some experience but there are significant competence gaps, no readiness for overseas expansion. The team presented limited readiness for development at the presentation.
  3 pts: Solution at moderate stage of development (MVP), team has relevant experience, product validated in the domestic market, needs further strengthening. The team presented moderate development opportunities at the presentation.
  4 pts: Solution and team at an advanced stage, well aligned, competent and experienced in the industry, pre-positioned to implement overseas expansion. The team at the presentation presented their readiness for expansion supported by a correct rationale.
  5 pts: Solution ready for deployment to foreign market, team very experienced, fully competent and well prepared to scale the business. The team at the presentation presented high potential and motivation in a very convincing manner.
2. Preliminary understanding of foreign market potential
  Scoring:
  1 pt: No understanding of the foreign market, no preliminary research or analysis carried out. The team at the presentation did not provide convincing evidence of their understanding of the foreign market.
  2 pts: Limited understanding of foreign market, minimal data and analysis, no deep insight. The team presented a superficial understanding of the market at the presentation.
  3 pts: Moderate understanding of foreign market, basic data and analysis, initial understanding of potential. The team at the presentation provided a basic understanding of the market.
  4 pts: Good understanding of the foreign market, detailed data and analysis, understanding of key drivers and trends. The team at the presentation provided convincing evidence of their understanding of the foreign market and the relevance of the potential for the startup’s product.
  5 pts: Very good understanding of foreign market, comprehensive and detailed analysis, deep insight into market potential and opportunities. The team at the presentation gave very convincing evidence of high awareness and understanding of the market potential.
3. Global potential (including scalability),
  Scoring:
  1 point: Low global potential, solution is not scalable in other markets. The team at the presentation did not provide convincing evidence of the possibility of global expansion.
  2 pts: Limited global potential, solution is partially scalable but requires significant adaptations. The team at the presentation presented limited scalability.
  3 pts: Moderate global potential, solution is scalable but needs further action and support. The team at the presentation presented moderate potential for global expansion.
  4 pts: High global potential, solution is well scalable and ready to expand to other markets. The team at the presentation provided convincing evidence of the potential for global expansion.
  5 pts: Very high global potential, solution is highly scalable, ready for global expansion without major modifications. The team at the presentation provided a very convincing justification for the high scalability and expansion potential.
4. Product-market fit,
  Scoring:
  1 pt: Lack of product fit with the domestic market, no credible information to confirm interest and acceptance from customers in the expansion market. The team at the presentation did not provide convincing evidence of product-market fit.
  2 pts: Limited product fit for domestic market, moderate interest, further adjustments needed for expansion market. The team at the presentation showed little product fit.
  3 pts: Moderate product fit for the domestic market, good level of customer interest, but there are areas for improvement and revision for the expansion market. The team at the presentation presented the basic product fit.
  4 pts: Good product fit in the domestic market, pre-verified customer interest and acceptance in the expansion market, product responds well to market needs. The team at the presentation provided convincing evidence of product fit.
  5 pts: Product proven in the domestic market, excellent product fit in the expansion market, pre-verified very high customer interest and acceptance, product fits perfectly with market needs and market moment (window of opportunity). The team at the presentation presented very convincing evidence of perfect product fit.
5. Motivation to scale the business,
  1 pt: Low motivation to scale, no clear plans or strategy. The team at the presentation did not provide convincing evidence of team motivation.
  2 pts: Limited motivation to scale, unclear plans and no detailed strategies. The team at the presentation presented little motivation to scale.
  3 pts: Moderate motivation to scale, basic plans and initial strategies. The team at the presentation presented a moderate motivation.
  4 pts: High motivation to scale, well-developed plans and strategies, strong commitment. The team at the presentation provided convincing evidence of team motivation.
  5 pts: Very high motivation to scale, detailed and realistic plans and strategies, full commitment and determination. The team at the presentation provided very convincing evidence and reasoning for the team’s strong motivation.
6. Rationale for choosing a foreign startup ecosystem.
  1 pt: No justification for the choice of foreign ecosystem, random choice. The team at the presentation did not provide a convincing justification.
  2 pts: Poor justification, minimal analysis, no deep understanding. The team at the presentation provided limited justification for the selection.
  3 pts: Moderate justification, basic analysis, initial understanding. The team at the presentation provided a moderate understanding of the selection.
  4 pts: Good justification, the team has carried out analyses that confirm understanding of key factors. The team provided a good rationale for the selection in the presentation.
  5 pts: Very good rationale for selection of foreign ecosystem, comprehensive analysis, deep understanding and clear strategy. The team is able to explain how they assessed the potential of the ecosystem and why it is relevant. The team at the presentation provided a very convincing rationale for the choice and the rationale for the choice in terms of the startup’s solution industry.
Invitations to attend an interview will be given a minimum of 3 (three) days in advance. If, despite at least 2 (two) attempts to schedule an interview, the Applicant fails to appear for the interview, the Foundation has the right to exclude the Applicant from the recruitment process.
The course and evaluation of the interview is mapped out in a protocol, which also indicates the Key Areas of Specialisation within which the Idea is implemented and the impact on environmental sustainability or social impact. In addition, the interviews may be recorded in the form of audio and/or video recordings.
Prior to the interviews, invited Startups are required to submit: (1) a declaration that they meet the Micro and/or Small enterpreneur criterion, and (2) a form of information presented when applying for de minimis aid, including, inter alia, information on the Start-up’s financial performance, employment status and capital-personal links, as well as information on public funding and/or de minimis aid received to date. Specimens of the documents referred to in the preceding sentence are available at https://startsmartcee.org/. On the basis of the submitted statements and interviews, the Foundation will make a preliminary assessment whether a given Start-up is eligible for a Grant under the Programme, i.e. whether it meets the conditions set out in § 3 of the Regulations. An in-depth assessment of the Startup’s eligibility will take place again on the day of signing the Acceleration Agreement, in accordance with the provisions of § 6.3.
Admission to the Programme is subject to confirmation that the Startup meets the formal conditions for participation in the Programme.
The final selection of Startups for the Programme is made by decision of the Steering Committee.
Within 10 (ten) days of the closing date of the call, the Foundation will notify the Applicants of the results of the procedure at the E-mail address they have indicated.
The Applicant has no recourse against a negative decision on qualification for the Programme and/or refusal to conclude an Acceleration Agreement.

§ 6. Acceleration Agreement

The condition for joining the Programme is signing the Acceleration Agreement constituting Attachment No. 1 to the Regulations. A specimen agreement for each Programme variant can be found at https://startsmartcee.org/.
The Acceleration Agreement is concluded in writing. As part of the contract, the following will also be agreed: Individual Acceleration Plan, Individual Acceleration Plan Schedule and Individual Acceleration Plan Budget.
In order to sign the Acceleration Agreement, Startup must demonstrate that it meets the requirements described in §3 of the Regulations, in particular the Micro- and/or Small entrepreneur criterion and that it did not exceed the de-minimis aid threshold as of the date of signing the Agreement. Verification of the fulfilment of the above criteria will be made by the Foundation based on Startup’s presentation of:
1. a declaration of compliance with the criterion of Micro and/or Small entrepreneur,
2. a form of information provided when applying for de minimis aid,
  including, inter alia, information on the financial results, state of employment and capital-personal relations of the Startup, as well as information on public funding and/or de minimis aid obtained to date – updated as at the date of signing the agreement. Specimens of the documents referred to in the previous sentence are available at https://startsmartcee.org/;
3. Startup registration documents;
4. Declarations of no criminal convictions concerning all members of the management body and/or partners representing the company (as appropriate to the legal form).
  In case of doubts regarding the truthfulness, reliability of statements and data contained in the above mentioned additional documents and/or in other cases, which the Foundation deems appropriate in order to assess whether a given Startup meets the requirements indicated in § 3 of the Regulations, the Foundation may demand from a Startup to provide other documents and/or information, including, in particular, corporate documentation of the Startup and its affiliates and partners, information about the actual beneficiaries of the Startup and any agreements and understandings (e.g. shareholder agreements) which may affect the fulfilment of the above mentioned conditions and the amount of allowed de minimis aid. The public and de minimis aid obtained so far for Polish entities will also be subject to verification through the SUDOP database provided by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. The amount of the Grant awarded to a given Startup will not lead to the Startup exceeding the de minimis aid threshold in accordance with the applicable regulations.
If for any reason the Applicant decides not to sign the Acceleration Agreement and/or the Foundation refuses the Applicant to sign the Acceleration Agreement, the Steering Committee may recommend further Applicants from the reserve list to participate in the Programme. The condition for participation of such a Startup in the Programme in the Pilot Ready Booster path is a positive decision of the Business Partner, in accordance with § 5a (8).
Prior to the conclusion of the Acceleration Agreement, the Foundation may require the documents necessary for the conclusion of the Agreement to be provided or updated, within a set time limit. Failure to provide the documents necessary to conclude the Agreement within the set time limit will result in refusal to conclude the Acceleration Agreement.

§ 7. Participation in the Programme

Participation in the Startup Programme is free of charge. Startups are responsible for costs associated with participation in the Programme, such as travel, accommodation and meals of Participants. A Startup that has received a Grant under the Pilot Ready Booster or Go Global Programme may only use the Grant to cover eligible expenses according to the Programme rules.
As part of the Startup Accelerator Programme, the Startup, at the discretion of the Steering Committee, has the opportunity to benefit from some and/or all of the following benefits:
1. For Startups participating in the Programme in the variant Pilot Ready Booster:
  1. participation in dedicated workshops and training courses;
  2. the possibility to implement the Accelerator in cooperation with a Business Partner;
  3. opportunity for Startups selected by the Steering Committee to participate in Demoday;
2. For Startups participating in the Programme under the Go Global variant:
  1. participation in dedicated workshops and training courses;
  2. participation in a Bootcamp trip organised in a selected foreign market;
  3. opportunity for Startups selected by the Steering Committee to participate in Demoday;
3. For all Startups:
  1. compulsory participation in the alumni club. Participation in the club is paid, which will be provided for in the Acceleration Agreement; for Startups qualified for the Pilot Ready Booster and/or Go Global Programme, the first 6 months of participation in the Alumni Club is free of charge;
  2. other services provided by the Foundation at a given time.
The Startup undertakes to identify in documentary form between 2 and 6 Participants who will be required to actively participate in the Programme. The Participant must be at least 18 years of age.
As part of the Go Global Programme, a maximum of 2 Participants indicated by Startup, who meet the legal requirements for travel to the USA/Germany, may participate in the Bootcamp abroad (in particular with regard to visa requirements).
To Participants will be assigned a dedicated mentor. Mentors will be market and/or technical experts. The selected mentor will work with Participants throughout the duration of the Programme.

§ 8. Grant

The Grant will be paid in accordance with the provisions of the Pilot Ready Booster and/or Go Global variant Acceleration Agreement between the Foundation and the Startup.
The maximum amount of the Grant shall be
1. in the Pilot Ready Booster Programme – PLN 400,000.00;
2. In the Go Global Programme – PLN 200,000.00 USA / PLN 150,000.00 Germany
The Grant constitutes de minimis aid to which the provisions of Commission Regulation 2023/2831apply. The final amount of the Grant depends on the budget determined by the Startup with the Business Partner.
Payment of the Grant will be made in tranches, in the form of reimbursement of the Startup’s expenses. In exceptional cases, the Foundation may accept an advance payment. The method of settling the Grant is defined in the Annex Principles of settling the Grants awarded to the grantees in the Smart UP – Startup Booster Poland projects European Funds for Modern Economy 2021-2027 which constitutes Attachment No. 2 to these Regulations. Ineligible costs include in particular the amount of VAT paid.
The payment of each tranche of the Grant shall be conditional upon the achievement of the Milestone foreseen for that tranche and a proper financial clearance of the expenses covered by the Grant in accordance with the principles indicated in paragraph 3 above. The Milestones will be defined in the Individual Acceleration Planner Schedule constituting an integral part of the Acceleration Agreement. The Schedule will outline the Milestones, the planned dates for their achievement and the methods and documents forming the basis for verifying the indicators of a given Milestone. All indicators included in the Schedule should be: specific, measurable, accessible, realistic, time-bound, documentable, and allowing the degree of achievement of a given Milestone to be determined.
Failure to achieve a given Milestone precludes undertaking the activities described in the Individual Acceleration Plan Schedule as appropriate for that Milestone. In the event that a Startup fails to document the achievement of any of the Milestones in accordance with the terms and timeframes of the Schedule, payment of the grant by the Foundation shall be withheld.
In the Pilot Ready Booster Programme, Milestones will be agreed each time with the Startup Business Partner, taking into account the level of development of the Idea, technical and safety conditions. The last Milestone will mean, at a minimum, obtaining the results of validation of the subject of development and/or its key elements in a near-real environment, on the basis of which a decision is made on the possibility of further cooperation between the Business Partner and the Startup on the basis of the developed solution. The achievement of the Milestone will be confirmed by a protocol signed by the Foundation, the Business Partner and the Startup.
The Go Global Programme has the following Milestones:
1. Participation in trainings and workshops as part of onboarding and preparation of the market entry strategy (Milestone I);
2. Participation with a mentor (Milestone II);
3. Participation in a Bootcamp in a foreign market (Milestone III);
  the implementation of which will be confirmed by a protocol signed by the Foundation and the Startup.
The implementation of the Programme by Startup is subject to control. Detailed rules of control will be defined in the Acceleration Agreement.
The Foundation may require from the Startup any material that can confirm that it has fulfilled the planned activities in material and financial terms. The quality of the products prepared as part of the implementation of the Programme and the Idea is also subject to verification.
The Foundation may make available to authorised institutions all documents on the basis of which it will be possible to verify the implementation of the Programme and the Idea, as well as the correctness of the Foundation’s application of the calculation concerning the amount of the Grant awarded and granted.

§ 9. Competition

During the Programme, the Foundation may organise a Competition. The Competition is open to representatives of Startups participating in the Pilot Ready Booster path. Participants of the Go Global Programme do not participate in the Competition.
In order to qualify for the Competition, the participation on behalf of the Startup of a Participant who is directly involved in the development of the Idea and who is under 30 years of age as of the date of the Acceleration Agreement, is required. The direct involvement should be crucial for the development of the Idea and its implementation. The criterion of involvement is not met by persons whose participation in the development of the Idea is of a purely administrative and/or technical nature.
Fulfilment of the condition referred to in paragraph 2 above automatically qualifies the Startup for the Competition and does not require any additional action.
By concluding the Acceleration Agreement, the Participant agrees to participate in the Competition. In spite of meeting the criterion referred to in paragraph 2 above, any Startup with which the Acceleration Agreement is terminated before the completion of the Programme and/or the payment of the Prize will be excluded from the Competition, regardless of the reasons and manner of its termination.
The object of the Competition is to select a Startup whose Idea meets the following criteria to the highest degree (Winner):
1. social impact;
2. quality;
3. market potential;
4. the social benefits that can be achieved if the Idea is implemented;
5. the viability of the business model of the Idea;
6. development of the Idea during the Programme;
7. in addition, the competence and commitment of the Participants to the Programme and the development of the Idea will be assessed.
The assessment of the extent to which the criteria set out in paragraph 4 are met and the selection of the Winner will be made jointly by the Foundation and the Founder. The assessment by the Foundation and the Founder is subjective in nature, subject to their discretion, and is not subject to any appeal.
The Startup, whose Idea will be selected, will receive a prize of 120,000.00 PLN (one hundred and twenty thousand PLN) gross (the Prize). The Winner is obliged to use the Prize for the development and/or implementation of the Idea. The Winner may be obliged to return the Prize if they use it for a purpose other than the development and/or implementation of the Idea, and also if the Acceleration Agreement is terminated with them (regardless of the reasons and manner of termination of this agreement) and/or they are obliged to return any funds in the nature of public aid, if granted under the Programme.
The Foundation and the Founder will conclude a separate agreement with the Winner, the object of which will be to determine the dates of payment of the Prize, the manner of its use and the conditions of its return. The agreement will be concluded no later than 60 (sixty) days after the announcement of the results of the Competition.
Any costs, fees, taxes and/or other public charges arising from the award and payment of the Prize shall be borne by the Winner. The Winner acknowledges that he/she may be liable for corporation tax in relation to the receipt of the Prize. In the event that the Foundation and/or the Founder is required to pay any tax and/or other public duty in connection with the payment of the Prize, the Prize will be reduced by the equivalent amount.
The announcement of the results of the Competition will take place on the date indicated at https://startsmartcee.org/. The Startups will be notified of the results of the Competition at the E-mail addresses indicated by them.
The results of the Competition will also be published on the Foundation’s and Founder’s website and social media platforms.
The Founder and/or the Foundation may cancel the Competition at any time without giving any reason. Startups will have no claims against the Foundation and/or the Founder as a result of the cancellation of the Competition.
Participation in the Competition is free of charge and does not involve any costs other than the Startup’s costs of participating in the Programme.

§ 10. Confidentiality

The Foundation, the Startup and the Participants shall keep strictly confidential any Confidential Information they come into possession of during the Programme.
Confidential Information may be disclosed when required by mandatory provisions of law, a court ruling, an administrative decision and/or to the extent that it is necessary to do so in order to fulfil the objectives of the Programme (in particular in order for the Foundation to fulfil its obligations regarding monitoring and reporting, control and audit, record keeping and information and publicity).
The Foundation shall have the right to release (publish) any content covered in the Application of a given Startup (including the identity of the Participants, brief written descriptions of the Startup and the Idea and the video) for any purpose related to the Programme’s implementation and/or for promotional purposes and such content will not be considered confidential.
The Startup undertakes that its designated Participants will participate in media and press contacts related to the Programme. As part of this obligation, the Participant may be required to prepare a description of the Idea, provide statements and/or content related to the Programme and/or prepare other statements for the media.
During the course of the Programme, Startups and Participants may be required to sign a confidentiality clause and/or non-disclosure agreement.

§ 11. Intellectual property

Startup agrees that the Foundation may use Startup’s trademark, word mark, graphic and/or word and graphic designation in marketing and/or information materials related to the Programme.
By submitting an application for participation in the Programme, Startup has not breached, is not violating, and will not violate the provisions of any agreement or rights of any third party, including but not limited to patents, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks, advertising or personal rights and will not disclose in violation of applicable laws any confidential or proprietary information concerning another person and/or entity.
Startup shall have full ownership of the rights to use the intellectual property exploited under the Programme, including, in particular, ownership of copyright and/or other relevant rights in the computer software that is used in the Idea covered by the Application. The Startup has full rights to dispose of the intellectual property rights referred to in the previous sentence on its own behalf.
If the intellectual property referred to in paragraph 3 is used under licence, Startup shall have an exclusive licence to use the intellectual property exploited under the Programme and shall have the right to grant further licences to use the intellectual property rights.
The Startup declares that it has observed and complied with, and undertakes to observe and comply with, the following statements during the Programme period:
1. in the preparation and implementation of the Idea covered by the Application, the terms and conditions of the licences granted to the Startup in respect of the works and/or computer programs used by the Startup in connection with the Programme were respected;
2. Startup’s exercise of its intellectual property rights is not in dispute or there are no grounds for disputes to arise;
3. all fees necessary to renew and/or maintain the intellectual property rights have been paid in full and all actions necessary to maintain and protect the intellectual property rights have been properly taken;
4. the Startup has not been notified/informed in any way or otherwise become aware of any third party claims against the intellectual property rights or of any infringement under the Programme and/or the Idea covered by the Application of the rights of third parties through the exploitation of intellectual property rights;
5. he is not aware of any infringement of intellectual property rights by third parties;
Neither the Startup nor the Participant may use the name “Massachusetts Institute of Technology” or any adaptation, modified version or abbreviation thereof, the names of departments, or the names of board members (so-called trustees), members of other bodies, students, employees and/or agents, or any trademark and/or graphic mark owned by MIT for any advertising purposes and/or publicly.
Neither the Startup nor the Participant may use the name “StartSmart CEE” or any adaptation, modified version, abbreviation or any trademark and/or graphic mark owned by StartSmart CEE for any advertising or purposes and/or publicly without the prior written consent of the StartSmart CEE Licensing Office under pain of nullity.
The results that are the subject of intellectual and/or industrial property rights and the results that are not subject to such protection, created as a result of Startup’s participation in the Programme, are the property of Startup, Startup has full rights to use the intellectual property exploited within the Programme, including in particular ownership of copyright and/or other relevant rights that are used within the Idea and has full rights to dispose of them on its own behalf.
The provisions of the Act of 4 February 1994 on Copyright and Related Rights (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 2509) shall apply to the author’s proprietary copyrights created as a result of the Programme’s implementation.

§ 12. Obligations and liabilities

The Foundation, any person participating in the Programme on the part of the Foundation, mentors, tutors, experts, the Business Partner and/or any person participating in the Programme on the part of the Business Partner will not be liable for any loss suffered by Startup, Participants and/or any entity affiliated with Startup personally and/or by capital, in connection with their participation in the Programme.
The Foundation will not be liable in the event that the Programme is interrupted, delayed, cancelled and/or cancelled due to external factors and/or force majeure making the running of the Programme very difficult and/or impossible. These events are beyond the control and therefore beyond the responsibility of the Foundation, and the Foundation will therefore be released, in due proportion, without payment of any penalty and/or compensation, from its reciprocal obligations under the Programme.
The obligations and liabilities of the Foundation in relation to the running of the Programme are set out in the Acceleration Agreement. Upon completion of the Programme, all obligations of the Foundation to Startup and Participants will cease. The obligations of the Foundation to a Participant and/or Startup are set out exclusively in the Acceleration Agreement and no other obligations exist or will arise in respect of a Startup and/or Participant other than those arising from the Acceleration Agreement.
The obligations of the Startup will continue beyond the end of the Programme to the extent that the Regulations, the Acceleration Agreement and/or applicable national and/or EU law so provide.
The Startup is obliged to disclose all documents and information concerning the Idea covered by the Application, and the Startup, which are to be considered relevant taking into account the terms and conditions of the Programme set out in the Acceleration Agreement and the Regulations.
The scope of information required in the Application is set out in Attachment No. 3 to the Regulations.

§ 13. Personal data

Personal data provided to the Foundation, will be processed by the Foundation in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation (Official Journal of the EU L 119 of 04.05.2016, p.1 as amended) (“RODO”).
Startup undertakes to comply with the provisions of the RODO.
The Foundation processes the personal data made available to it concerning:
1. in the case of the Applicant: the data of the persons authorised to represent the Applicant, the data of the persons submitting the Application and the data of other persons indicated in the Application (in particular, persons indicated as Participants) and other persons designated to cooperate with the Foundation for the purpose of processing the Application;
2. in the case of Startup: data of persons indicated in point 3.1., as well as data of persons representing Startup and/or working on Startup’s side on the Idea, data of Participants, data of persons appointed by Startup to cooperate with the Foundation in connection with the implementation of the Programme;
in particular as regards their identification data (name, surname, position) and contact details (telephone number, e-mail address).
The purpose of data collection is for the implementation of the Programme and the implementation of events, workshops, meetings for graduates of the Programme after its completion.
The basis for the processing of the data is its necessity for the implementation of the Programme (Article 6(1)(b) RODO) and/or legal obligations incumbent on the controller (e.g. public assistance obligations – Article 6(1)(c) RODO) and/or the implementation of legitimate interests pursued by the Foundation (marketing purposes, defence against the assertion of claims, implementation of statutory tasks and the Programme – Article 6(1)(f) RODO).
The processing of personal data is a condition for participation in the Programme. If the data is not provided, it will not be possible to implement the Programme. By submitting an Application, the Applicant undertakes to provide the Foundation with the necessary personal data, to comply with the rules of personal data processing and the rules of document circulation established by the Foundation, and to provide all persons whose personal data he provides with the Foundation’s contact details and information about the processing of their personal data by the Foundation. The obligations referred to in the previous sentence also apply to the Startup if the Applicant is selected to participate in the Programme.
Individuals whose data has been accessed in connection with the Programme have the right to access the content of the data and to rectify, erase and/or restrict processing, as well as the right to object, request the cessation of processing and data portability, and the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.
The data provided by Startup will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of:
1. personal data that will be shared in the grant application and for the purposes of the application process for the Programme and the settlement of the Programme;
2. personal data shared with other entities supporting the Foundation in the implementation and promotion of the Programme;
3. personal data, the transmission of which to the relevant state institutions is imposed on the Foundation by law.
The data provided by Startup may be shared outside the European Economic Area and the Foundation takes appropriate steps to ensure the protection of this data, in particular through the use of certain contractual clauses called “standard contractual clauses” which have been approved by the European Commission and/or transfer to countries for which the European Commission has issued a decision declaring an adequate level of protection. In such a case, those whose data has been made available to the Foundation are entitled to obtain a copy of the relevant safeguards.
Data provided by the Applicant and/or Startup will not be subject to profiling.
The personal data will be stored for a period of 10 (ten) years, starting from the beginning of the year following the year in which the Application is received (in the case of an Applicant) and/or for no less than the period specified in the Acceleration Agreement (in the case of a Startup).
The Foundation, in order to carry out the Programme, makes available to the Applicant and the Startup the data of the persons appointed by it to carry out the Programme and to cooperate with the Applicant and/or the Startup. The Applicant and Startup are obliged to process this data in accordance with the provisions of the personal data protection law.

§ 14. Final provisions

A Startup is fully responsible for the actions of its representatives and Participants as if they were its own actions. The Foundation reserves the right to exclude any Application, Startup and/or Participant at any time if, in the opinion of the Foundation, the assumptions, terms, conditions, processes or rules of the Programme have been violated. The Foundation’s decisions are final.
Startups and/or Participants whose behaviour is unethical, illegal and/or likely to adversely affect the image of the Foundation and/or the Programme will be excluded from the Programme at the discretion of the Foundation.
The specific liability rules of the Startup and the Participants will be set out in the Acceleration Agreement.
If it becomes necessary to amend the Regulations, the Foundation will post on the website: startsmartcee.org information about the amendment, the current content of the Regulations and the date from which the amendment applies. Unless the provisions of the new Regulations provide otherwise, Applications submitted to date shall be considered by the Foundation and the Steering Committee in accordance with the provisions of the amended Regulations.
Should it be necessary to amend the Application due to a change in the Regulations, the Foundation will inform the Applicants on the startsmartcee.org website and by correspondence to the E-mail addresses indicated by the Applicants affected by the changes in the Application.
In the event of changes to the Regulations, the Applicant has the right to withdraw from the Programme, but no later than when signing the Acceleration Agreement.
Any disputes arising out of and/or in connection with these Regulations, subject to mandatory provisions of law, shall be resolved by the Polish common courts with jurisdiction over the seat of the Foundation. The provisions of these Regulations shall be governed by and construed in accordance with Polish law.
These Regulations have been prepared in Polish and English language versions.
In the event of a discrepancy between any of the language versions, the Polish language version shall prevail.
If necessary and/or if required by applicable law, the Regulations may be updated.
These Regulations shall enter into force on the date of publication.

Regulations of the Acceleration Program START SMART CEE Tracks: ReThink Academy and Pilot Ready

These Regulations establish the rules for recruitment and participation in the individual startup acceleration program “STARTSMART CEE”, in variants:

ReThink Academy,
Pilot Ready.

§ 1. Definitions

Whenever the Regulations refer to:

E-mail address – it should be understood as the e-mail address for correspondence between the Applicant/Startup and the Foundation indicated in the Application;
Acceleration – it should be understood as the entirety of activities carried out towards the Startup within the framework of the Program;
Applicant – means the entity that submits the Application;
Demoday – it should be understood as a cyclical event organized by the Foundation, during which selected Startups will present the effects of their work, further business and financial assumptions of their Idea;
Foundation – it should be understood as the Foundation for Technological Entrepreneurship with its seat in Warsaw, at. al. Armii Ludowej 26, 00-609 Warsaw, entered in the register of entrepreneurs and in the register of other social and professional organizations, foundations and independent public health care institutions of the National Court Register under the number 0000566188, NIP: 5252623890, REGON: 362028771, being the organizer and operator of the Program;
Founder – it should be understood as CVC ADVISERS (POLAND) spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością with its registered office in Warsaw, pl. S. Małachowskiego 2, 00-066 Warsaw, entered in the register of entrepreneurs of the National Court Register under the number 0000559826, NIP: 5223030302, REGON: 361615130;

Confidential Information – shall be understood as any information in any form (in particular, oral, written, electronic), provided in connection with the Program, marked as confidential or where the circumstances of its disclosure indicate such nature, including trade secrets, relating to the party or Startup, their client or counterparty, and in particular any information relating to:

Idea;
activities, planned activities, ongoing and/or negotiated projects;
technology;
financial situation;
the party’s customers and/or contractors;
execution of the Acceleration Agreement.

Confidential Information does not include information that (i) is included in the Application (ii) is and/or becomes publicly available, unless it has become publicly available as a result of a party’s breach of its obligations under the Regulations or the Acceleration Agreement, (iii) was already in the possession of a party at the time of disclosure without an obligation to keep it confidential and without breach of the Regulations or the Acceleration Agreement, (iv) are made available to a party from any source, provided that such source is not bound by an obligation of confidentiality to the disclosing party with respect to such information, and/or (v) the disclosure of which has been consented to by the party to whom such information relates;

Steering Committee – it should be understood as a body supporting the management of the Program, where the course of the Program is monitored and key decisions are made regarding the selection of Startups for the Program. The Steering Committee consists of managers of the Foundation, delegated experts, representatives of Business Partners. The chairman of the Steering Committee is a person delegated by the Board of the Foundation;
Competition – it should be understood as the competition named: “CVC Young Innovator Awards” organized by the Foundation in cooperation with the Founder, the purpose of which is to select the Idea with the greatest market potential, the implementation of which will bring the greatest social benefits. The competition is directed to Startups that meet the conditions specified in the Regulations;
Micro-entrepreneurs and/or Small Entrepreneurs – it should be understood as a micro-entrepreneur and/or small entrepreneur, meeting the conditions specified in Annex I to Commission Regulation No. 651/2014;
Business partner – it should be understood as an entrepreneur interested in the use of technology and/or cooperation in the development of products (including services) of Startups participating in Acceleration in the variant Pilot Ready Business Partners in the Acceleration Program serve as Technology Recipients (e.g., large and/or medium-sized enterprises, local government units, public sector units); Business Partners have the resources and potential to increase the chances of rapid business development of Startups participating in the Acceleration Program;
Idea – it should be understood as a venture of the Startup described in the Application; in case of Startups applying under the path Pilot Ready, the Idea should be at a minimum at the MVP stage;
Pilot Ready – means the stage of the Partner’s cooperation with the Startup with the support of the Foundation, within the framework of which activities will be undertaken aimed at pilot implementation and/or commercialization of the Startup Idea, including through: (i) selling the rights to the Idea; (ii) granting a license; (iii) entering into a binding agreement defining the terms of profit participation from the Idea; (iv) launching the Idea on the market; (v) other forms of implementation and commercialization specified in the PoC implementation Plan and individual agreements concluded directly with the Partner;
Acceleration Program / Acceleration Program – means an acceleration program aimed at providing Startups with (i) training and mentoring (ReThink Academy variant), and/or (ii) enabling, supporting and organizing collaboration between Startups and the Partner in the field of innovation and in thematic areas relevant to the development of the Partner’s and the Startup’s business (Pilot Ready variant).
Regulations – means these Regulations of the Foundation’s Accelerator Program setting out the rules of recruitment and participation of projects in the Program, available at: www.startsmartcee.org;
ReThink Academy – it should be understood as Acceleration activities aimed at selected Startups, including in particular training and mentoring;
Commission Regulation No. 651/2014 – shall mean Commission Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014 of June 17, 2014 declaring certain types of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty (Official Journal of the EU L 187 of 26.06.2014, p. 1 as amended);
Startup – it should be understood as a capital company, having an entry in the relevant register, with the status of Micro-entrepreneur and/or Small Entrepreneur, subject to § 3 paragraph 3 of the Regulations;
Participant – it should be understood as an individual from the Startup team enrolled in the Program by Startup;
Acceleration Agreement – it should be understood as an agreement concluded between the Startup and the Foundation for participation in the Program, specifying the terms of such participation and the rules of implementation of the Program. The Acceleration Agreement is the basis for participation in the Program.
Application – it should be understood as the application form filled in with data, submitted through the recruitment platform on the startsmartcee.org portal, along with the presentation of the assumptions of the Idea in the form of the author’s presentation, description, multimedia material, and/or in the form being a combination of the mentioned forms. The content of the Application must allow for evaluation in accordance with the Program’s ideas’ selection criteria.

§ 2. General provisions

The goal of the Program is to accelerate the development of Startups by promoting and supporting Startups to implement technology projects.
The program is implemented in two variants: ReThink Academy and Pilot Ready. A Startup is eligible to apply for participation in the Program in each of the above variants. The eligibility of a Startup for a particular variant of the Program is decided each time by the Foundation (with the following variant Pilot Ready – after receiving a positive decision in this regard from the Business Partner).
The program in the ReThink Academy variant aims to provide support in the form of workshops, mentoring, carrying out the process of identifying the business needs of Startups.
Program variant Pilot Ready is aimed at implementing pilot implementation in cooperation with the Partner. The Pilot Ready is aimed at Applicants whose product, service or process solutions have the potential to find application in areas relevant to Business Partners and their market environment.
Participation in the Program is open to entities selected through the open main call or qualified under other programs organized by the Foundation, provided they are admitted by the Steering Committee. Individual deadlines for accepting Applications will be set for each edition of the Program. The Foundation also foresees the possibility of announcing separate calls for particular variants of the Program.

§ 3. Entities eligible to participate in the Program

Program variant Pilot Ready and/or ReThink Academy is aimed at an entity that:
1. meets the definition of Applicant;
2. at the time of signing the Acceleration Agreement has a registered business activity confirmed by an entry in the relevant register;
3. has no personal or capital relations with the Foundation;
4. at the time of signing the Acceleration Agreement has the status of a Micro-Entrepreneur and/or Small Entrepreneur;
5. carries out its activities in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and the rules of conducting such activities do not violate the provisions of the Regulations and the Acceleration Agreement;
6. owns exclusive copyrights to the Idea, including, in particular, the right to dispose of it in an unlimited manner, and the Idea is free from any legal encumbrances and security interests;
7. neither the Idea nor its implementation violates or will result in violation of the rights of third parties, applicable laws, any contract and/or agreement, and the Idea and its implementation will not require the consent of any third party under any contract and/or agreement. If the consent of any body of the Startup is required for participation in the Program, the Applicant shall ensure that such consent is obtained no later than on the date of submission of the Application;
8. has all permits, licenses and other approvals of public administration authorities and has registered with the relevant registries in accordance with applicable regulations to carry out activities related to the implementation of the Program;
In addition, the following additional criteria apply to entities participating in the ReThink Academy variant of the Program:
1. The Applicant has not, up to the date of the Acceleration Agreement, obtained non-refundable financing (from both public and private funds) in excess of EUR 1 million, the purpose of which is to contribute to the capital of the company, to acquire equity or similar rights in the company, including obtaining phantom rights and/or rights to binding co-determination of the Startup’s core business;
2. The applicant has been operating for up to 5 years (from the date of its registration in the relevant register), has not been listed on the stock exchange, has not yet made a profit distribution and has not been formed through a merger.
The Steering Committee may, by way of exception, decide to allow to participate in the Program an entity which:
1. operates as a sole proprietorship and/or in any other legally permissible form and has an entry in the relevant register;
2. exceeded the funding threshold referred to in paragraph 2.1 above;
3. has been qualified for other programs organized by the Foundation;
  as long as it meets all other requirements provided for in the Regulations.
An entity will not qualify for the Program, and will be disqualified if these circumstances become apparent after qualifying for the Program:
1. whose member of governing bodies has been convicted by a final judgment of a crime of making false statements, bribery, crimes against property, credibility of documents, money and securities trading, economic turnover, the banking system, criminal and fiscal offenses, or other crimes related to the performance of business activities and/or committed for the purpose of gaining financial benefits;
2. which has arrears of public debts and/or is under receivership and/or is in the process of liquidation and/or has applied for suspension of operations;
3. against whom was adjudged the prohibition referred to in Article 12 paragraph 1 point 1 of the Act of June 15, 2012 on the effects of entrusting work to foreigners unlawfully residing on the territory of the Republic of Poland (Journal of Laws of 2021. item 1745) and/or the prohibition referred to in Article 9 paragraph 1 point 2a of the Act of October 28, 2002 on the responsibility of collective entities for acts prohibited under penalty (Journal of Laws of 2023, item 659, as amended);
4. which is in a difficult situation within the meaning of EU state aid regulations, in particular Commission Regulation No. 651/2014, including is in a state of insolvency, has filed or has been filed with respect to it a bankruptcy petition, has filed an application for the opening of restructuring proceedings and/or has been filed with respect to it an application for the opening of restructuring proceedings;
5. which is in liquidation and/or has filed for suspension of operations;
6. if a receivership and/or guardianship of the legal entity has been established for it;
7. in respect of which there is a reasonable doubt of having the rights to dispose of the Idea submitted in the Application and/or is the subject of a dispute, security and/or claim by any third party.

§ 4. Notification

Individual deadlines will be set for each edition of the Program to accept Applications, which will be available at: www.startsmartcee.org. Application is made electronically by filling out the application form. Applications sent after the intake deadlines will not be subject to verification within a given edition.
Submitting the application form means:
1. acceptance of the Regulations and consent to the service of the Regulations and amendments to the Regulations by posting their current content at www.startsmartcee.org; In the event of amendments to the Regulations after a given Applicant has submitted an Application, the Application shall remain valid, although the Foundation reserves the right to ask the Applicant to supplement the Application within the scope and timeframe indicated by the Foundation;
2. A commitment to actively participate in the Program, including workshops and trainings.
The Application must be prepared in English. Applications prepared in other languages will not be considered.
As part of the Application, the Startup indicates whether it wants to implement the Program in the ReThink Academy variant or the Pilot Ready. The Startup’s indication is not binding on the Foundation, i.e. the Startup may indicate one of the two paths as preferred, and ultimately qualify for the second path.
The Applicant is required to make statements in the application form that are in accordance with the legal and factual situation, and to disclose all documents and information regarding the Idea and the Applicant that should be considered relevant given the terms and conditions of the Program.
The Applicant indemnifies the Foundation against any claims of third parties arising in connection with his Application.
The materials submitted by the Applicant with the Application become the property of the Foundation and will not be returned to the Applicant. For the avoidance of doubt, this does not apply to the intellectual property rights to the Idea, which do not pass to the Foundation.
Applications are subject to evaluation for compliance with formal criteria, in particular: completeness and correctness of the Application, including the language in which it was prepared statements regarding intellectual property rights to the Idea, the status of Micro- and/or Small Entrepreneur. As part of this evaluation, the Foundation may call on the Applicant to provide documents confirming that the formal criteria are met, within 3 business days from the date of sending the call to the Applicant’s E-mail address. Applications that are not completed in spite of the call to complete the deficiencies will be rejected.
The Foundation reserves the right to cancel the recruitment, in particular in the case of significant changes in the generally applicable law affecting the conditions of the recruitment and/or force majeure events. In such a case, the Applicant shall not be entitled to claim compensation.

§ 5. Substantive Evaluation of Applications

A Startup applying to the Program under the ReThink Academy path may be qualified for the Program after passing the formal verification of the Application.
As part of the path Pilot Ready obtaining a positive evaluation at the formal verification stage qualifies the Application for further substantive evaluation. This evaluation is carried out in the following stages.

§ 5a. Substantive evaluation under the Pilot Ready path

In the first stage, the evaluation is carried out through Metabeta’s online platform. The evaluation is carried out by two jurors, selected from a pool of technology and business experts with knowledge and experience in evaluating projects and/or relevant to the field in which the Startup operates, involved in a given edition of the Program. Jurors evaluate the application according to the following criteria, awarding from 1 (min) to 5 (max) points under each criterion:
1. Problem – Is the problem clear, quantified (numerically) and proven? Does the startup understand how users are currently dealing with the problem? – 12% weighting.
2. Solution – Is the solution clearly explained? Are the benefits and details well understood? Does it seem feasible? Is the competitive advantage sustainable? – 12% weighting.
3. Market – Are customer segments well identified? Is the market size and growth attractive to new entrants? Are competitors well identified and understood? – 12% weighting.
4. Economics – Is the business model well defined? Are revenue sources and major costs well identified? – 12% weighting.
5. Traction & go to market – Does the company have evidence that this is a viable business (customers, revenue, growth)? Do they have a clear approach on how to get more customers? – 12% weighting.
6. Team – Do the founders have the right experience? Do their skills get complement each other? – 12% weighting.
7. Current needs – Does the startup have a clear understanding of its current needs (funding, contacts, hiring) and next milestones? – 12% weighting.
8. Fit – Is the startup aligned with the program and its partners? – 16% weighting.
After the jury evaluation of the Applications is completed, a ranking list of Startups is created based on the averaged scores. The ranking list is made available to representatives of Business Partners in the form of recommendations for the next stage of evaluation. The decision on the selection of Startups recommended to Business Partners rests with the Foundation. The place on the ranking list does not determine the final qualification and/or not of a Startup to the Program .
The next stage of substantive evaluation of the Application is to conduct interviews with selected Startups, in the form of video and/or teleconference and/or at the Foundation’s headquarters and with the participation of representatives of Business Partners and/or experts of the Foundation. Participation of the Business Partner in the interview does not prejudge the Partner’s selection of a particular Startup for further acceleration. Interviews take the form of maximum 15-minute presentation of the Startup, followed by a session of questions. The substantive evaluation at this stage consists of a point-based (from 1 to 5) verification of the following aspects of the Application and Idea:
1. team,
2. uniqueness,
3. social utility and environmental impact,
4. feasibility,
5. product readiness level,
6. market potential and scalability,
7. matching the needs of the Business Partner.
Invitations to participate in the interview will be given a minimum of 3 (three) days in advance. If, despite at least 2 (two) attempts to schedule an appointment, the Applicant fails to appear for the interview, the Foundation has the right to exclude the Applicant from the recruitment process.
The course and evaluation of the interview are mapped in the protocol, which also indicates the Startup’s industry specialization and the National Intelligent Specializations within which the Idea is implemented. In addition, interviews may be recorded in the form of audio and/or video recordings.
Selected Startups proceed to the stage of workshops with Business Partners to develop a cooperation scenario. The selection is made by a given Partner together with the Foundation, guided first by the Startup’s ability to potentially cooperate with a given Partner and the desire to avoid conflicts of interest (e.g., directly competing each other’s projects). The selection for this stage may also include a reserve list.
The final selection of Startups for the Program is made by decision of the Steering Committee, within which representatives of Business Partners have a decision-making vote. In particular, the Business Partner decides whether it will pursue cooperation with the Startup under the Pilot Ready path.
The condition for admission to the Program is confirmation of cooperation by the Business Partner and the selected Startup, as well as confirmation that the Startup meets the formal conditions for participation in the Program (which at this stage are subject to repeated, in-depth verification).
Within 10 (ten) days from the date of completion of the recruitment, the Foundation will notify the Applicants of the results of the proceedings at the E-mail address they indicated.
The Applicant is not entitled to appeal against a negative decision on qualification for the Program and/or refusal to conclude an Acceleration Agreement.

§ 6. Acceleration agreement

In order to join the Program, it is necessary to sign the Acceleration Agreement constituting Appendix No. 1 to the Regulations. A model agreement for each variant of the Program can be found at https://startsmartcee.org/
If, for any reason, an Applicant decides not to sign the Accelerator Agreement and/or the Foundation refuses to allow an Applicant to sign the Accelerator Agreement, the Steering Committee may recommend additional Applicants from the reserve list to participate in the Program. The condition for participation of such Startup in the Program in the path of the Pilot Ready is a positive decision of the Business Partner, in accordance with § 5a (8).
Prior to the conclusion of the Acceleration Agreement, the Foundation may require the delivery or updating, within the prescribed time limit, of the documents necessary for the conclusion of the Agreement. Failure to provide the documents necessary for the conclusion of the Agreement within the prescribed period will result in the refusal to conclude the Acceleration Agreement.

§ 7. Participation in the Program

Participation in the Startups’ Program is free of charge. Startups are responsible for costs associated with participation in the Program, such as travel, lodging and meals for Participants.
Under the Startup Acceleration Program, depending on the decision of the Steering Committee, the Startup has the opportunity to receive some and/or all of the following benefits:
1. For Startups participating in the Program in the ReThink Academy variant:
  1. participation in dedicated workshops and training courses;
2. For Startups participating in the Program in the Pilot Ready variant:
  1. participation in dedicated workshops and training courses;
  2. the opportunity to implement Acceleration in cooperation with a Business Partner;
  3. opportunity for Startups selected by the Steering Committee to participate in Demoday;
3. For all Startups:
  1. mandatory participation in the alumni club. Participation in the club is paid, which will be provided for in the Acceleration Agreement;
  2. other benefits provided by the Foundation at a given time.
The Startup undertakes to identify in documentary form from 2 to 6 Participants who will be required to actively participate in the Program. The Participant must be at least 18 years of age.
Participants will be assigned a dedicated mentor. Mentors will be market and/or technical experts. The selected mentor will work with Participants throughout the duration of the Program.

§ 8. Competition

During the Program, the Foundation may organize a Competition. The competition is open to representatives of Startups participating in the ReThink Academy, Pilot Ready paths.
To qualify for the Competition, the participation on behalf of the Startup of a Participant directly involved in the development of the Idea, who is under 30 years of age as of the date of the Acceleration Agreement, is required. The direct involvement should be crucial to the development of the Idea and its implementation. The criterion of involvement is not met by persons whose participation in the development of the Idea is of a purely administrative and/or technical nature.
Fulfilment of the condition referred to in paragraph 2 above means automatic qualification of the Startup for the Competition and does not require any additional action.
Conclusion of the Acceleration Agreement implies consent to participate in the Competition. A Startup with which the Acceleration Agreement is terminated before completion of the Program or payment of the Prize, regardless of the reasons and manner of termination, will be excluded from the Competition, despite meeting the criterion referred to in paragraph 2 above.
The object of the Competition is to select a Startup whose Idea meets the following criteria to the highest degree (Winner):
1. social impact;
2. quality;
3. market potential;
4. social benefits that can be achieved if the Idea is implemented;
5. the feasibility of the business model of the Idea;
6. development of the Idea during the Program;
7. in addition, the competence and involvement of Participants in the Program and the development of the Idea will be evaluated.
The assessment of the degree of fulfilment of the criteria indicated in paragraph 4 and the selection of the Winner will be made jointly by the Foundation and the Founder. The evaluation made by the Foundation and the Founder is subjective in nature, depends on their discretion, and there is no appeal against its results.
The Startup whose Idea is selected will receive a prize in the amount of 120,000.00 PLN (one hundred and twenty thousand zlotys) gross (the Prize). The Winner is obligated to use the Prize for the development and/or implementation of the Idea. The Winner may be required to return the Prize if he/she uses it for any purpose other than the development and/or implementation of the Idea, and if the Acceleration Agreement is terminated with him/her (regardless of the reasons and manner of termination of such agreement) and/or if he/she is required to return any funds in the nature of public assistance, if granted under the Program.
The Foundation and the Founder will conclude a separate agreement with the Winner, the subject of which will be to determine the terms of payment of the Prize, the manner of its use and the terms of return. The conclusion of the agreement will take place no later than 60 (sixty) days after the announcement of the results of the Competition.
All costs, fees, taxes and/or other public tributes resulting from the award and payment of the Prize will be charged to the Winner. The Winner acknowledges that he/she may be liable for corporate income tax in connection with the receipt of the Prize. In the event that the Foundation and/or the Founder is required to pay any tax or other public tributes in connection with the payment of the Prize, the Prize will be reduced by their equivalent.
Announcement of the results of the Competition will be made on the date indicated at https://startsmartcee.org/. The Startups will be notified of the results of the Competition to the E-mail addresses indicated by them.
The results of the Competition will also be published on the Foundation’s and the Founder’s website and social networks.
The Founder and/or the Foundation may cancel the Competition at any time without giving any reason. Startups shall have no claims against the Foundation and/or the Founder in connection with the cancellation of the Competition.
Participation in the Competition is free of charge and does not involve any costs other than Startup’s costs associated with participation in the Program.

§ 9. Confidentiality

The Foundation, the Startup and the Participants shall keep strictly confidential any Confidential Information they come into possession of during the Program.
Confidential Information may be disclosed when required by mandatory provisions of law, a court ruling, an administrative decision, and/or to the extent that it is necessary to carry out the objectives of the Program (in particular, in terms of the Foundation’s performance of its obligations regarding monitoring and reporting, control and audit, record keeping, and information and publicity).
The Foundation shall have the right to release (publish) any content covered in the Application of a given Startup (including the identity of the Participants, brief written descriptions of the Startup and the Idea, and a video) for any purpose related to the Program’s implementation and/or for promotional purposes, and such content shall not be considered confidential.
The Startup undertakes that its designated Participants will participate in media and press contacts related to the Program. As part of this obligation, the Participant may be required to prepare a description of the Idea, provide statements and/or content related to the Program, and/or prepare other statements for the media.
During the course of the Program, Startups and Participants may be required to sign a confidentiality clause and/or non-disclosure agreement.

§ 10. Intellectual property

Startup agrees that the Foundation may use Startup’s trademark, word mark, graphic and/or word and graphic designation in marketing and/or informational materials related to the Program.
By applying for participation in the Program, Startup has not violated, is not violating, and will not violate the provisions of any agreements or rights of third parties, including, but not limited to, patents, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks, advertising, or personal property, as well as will not disclose in violation of applicable laws any confidential or proprietary information regarding another person and/or entity.
The Startup shall have full ownership of the rights to use the intellectual property exploited under the Program, including, in particular, ownership of the copyright and/or other relevant rights to the computer software that is used in the Idea covered by the Application. The Startup shall have full ownership of the rights to dispose of the intellectual property rights referred to in the preceding sentence on its own behalf.
If the intellectual property referred to in paragraph 3 is used under license, the Startup shall have an exclusive license to use the intellectual property exploited under the Program and shall have the right to grant further licenses to use the intellectual property rights.
The Startup declares that it has observed and complied with, and agrees to observe and comply with, the following statements during the Program period:
1. in the preparation and implementation of the Idea covered by the Application, the terms of the licenses granted to the Startup with respect to works and/or computer programs used by the Startup in connection with the Program were observed;
2. the Startup’s exercise of its intellectual property rights is not in dispute, nor is the basis for them;
3. all fees necessary to renew and/or maintain the intellectual property rights have been paid in full, and all actions necessary to maintain and protect the intellectual property rights have been taken accordingly;
4. the Startup has not been notified/informed in any way or otherwise become aware of any third party claims against intellectual property rights or any infringement under the Program and/or the Idea covered by the Application of the rights of third parties through the use of intellectual property rights;
5. he is not aware of any infringement of intellectual property rights by third parties;
Neither the Startup nor the Participant may use the name “Massachusetts Institute of Technology” or any adaptation, modified version or abbreviation thereof, the names of departments, or the names of board members (so-called trustees), members of other bodies, students, employees and/or agents, or any trademark and/or graphic mark owned by MIT for any advertising purposes and/or publicly.
Neither the Startup nor the Participant may use the name “StartSmart CEE” or any adaptation, modified version, abbreviation, or any trademark and/or graphic mark owned by StartSmart CEE for any advertising purposes and/or publicly without the prior written consent of the StartSmart CEE License Office under pain of nullity.
The results that are the subject of intellectual and/or industrial property rights and the results that are not subject to such protection, created as a result of the Startup’s participation in the Program, are the property of the Startup, the Startup has full rights to use the intellectual property exploited under the Program, including, in particular, ownership of copyright and/or other relevant rights that are used in the Idea, and has full rights to dispose of them on its own behalf.
The provisions of the Act of February 4, 1994 on Copyright and Related Rights (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 2509) shall apply to the author’s proprietary copyrights created as a result of the Program’s implementation.

§ 11. Liabilities and Responsibilities

The Foundation, any person participating in the Program on the part of the Foundation, mentors, tutors, experts, the Business Partner and/or persons participating in the Program on the part of the Business Partner will not be liable for any losses incurred by the Startup, Participants and/or entities affiliated with the Startup, either personally and/or by capital, in connection with their participation in the Program.
The Foundation shall not be liable in the event of interruption, delay, cancellation and/or cancellation of the Program due to the occurrence of external factors and/or force majeure making it very difficult and/or impossible to conduct the Program. These events are beyond the control and therefore beyond the responsibility of the Foundation, and therefore the Foundation will be relieved, in due proportion, without payment of any penalty and/or compensation, of its mutual obligations under the Program.
The Foundation’s obligations and responsibilities related to the operation of the Program are set forth in the Acceleration Agreement. Upon termination of the Program, all obligations of the Foundation to the Startup and Participants will cease. The Foundation’s obligations to a Participant and/or Startup are set forth solely in the Acceleration Agreement, and no obligations other than those under the Acceleration Agreement exist or will arise with respect to the Startup and/or Participant.
The Startup’s obligations will continue even after the termination of the Program to the extent that the Regulations, the Acceleration Agreement and/or applicable national and/or EU laws so provide.
The Startup is obliged to disclose all documents and information concerning the Idea covered by the Application, and the Startup, which are to be considered relevant taking into account the terms and conditions of the Program set forth in the Acceleration Agreement and the Regulations.
The scope of information required in the Application is specified in Appendix No. 2 to the Regulations.

§ 12. Personal data

Personal data provided to the Foundation, will be processed by the Foundation in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (Official Journal of the EU L 119 of 04.05.2016, p.1 as amended) (“RODO”).
Startup agrees to comply with the provisions of the RODO.
The Foundation processes the personal data provided to it regarding:
1. in the case of the Applicant: data of persons authorized to represent the Applicant, data of persons submitting the Application and data of other persons indicated in the Application (in particular, persons indicated as Participants) and other persons designated to cooperate with the Foundation for the purpose of processing the Application;
2. in the case of Startup: data of persons indicated in point 3.1., as well as data of persons representing Startup and/or working on Startup’s side on the Idea, data of Participants, data of persons appointed by Startup to cooperate with the Foundation in connection with the implementation of the Program;
  in particular in terms of their identification data (name, surname, position) and contact details (telephone number, e-mail address).
The purpose of data collection is the implementation of the Program and the implementation of events, workshops, meetings for graduates of the Program after its completion.
The basis for data processing is its necessity for the implementation of the Program (Article 6(1)(b) RODO) and/or legal obligations incumbent on the controller (e.g. public assistance obligations – Article 6(1)(c) RODO) and/or the implementation of legitimate interests pursued by the Foundation (marketing purposes, defence against the assertion of claims, implementation of statutory tasks and the Program – Article 6(1)(f) RODO).
Processing of personal data is a condition for participation in the Program. If the data are not provided, the implementation of the Program will not be possible. By submitting an Application, the Applicant agrees to provide the Foundation with the necessary personal data, to comply with the rules of personal data processing and the rules of document circulation established by the Foundation, and to provide all persons whose personal data he/she provides with the Foundation’s contact information and information about the processing of their personal data by the Foundation. The obligations referred to in the preceding sentence also apply to the Startup if the Applicant is selected to participate in the Program.
Individuals whose data has been accessed in connection with the Program have the right to access the content of the data and to rectify, erase and/or restrict its processing, as well as the right to object, request the cessation of processing and data portability, and the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.
Data provided by Startup will not be subject to sharing with third parties, except for:
1. personal data that will be subject to sharing in the grant application and for the purposes of the grant application process for the Program and settlement of the Program;
2. personal data shared with other entities supporting the Foundation in the implementation and promotion of the Program;
3. personal data, the transmission of which to the relevant state institutions is imposed on the Foundation by law.
The data provided by Startup may be shared outside the European Economic Area, and the Foundation therefore takes appropriate steps to ensure the protection of such data, in particular through the use of certain contractual clauses called “standard contractual clauses” that have been approved by the European Commission and/or transfer to countries for which the European Commission has issued a decision finding an adequate level of protection. In such a case, those whose data has been made available to the Foundation are entitled to obtain a copy of the relevant safeguards.
Data provided by the Applicant and/or Startup will not be subject to profiling.
Personal data will be kept for a period of 10 (ten) years, starting from the beginning of the year following the year in which the Application was received (in the case of an Applicant) and/or for no less than the period specified in the Acceleration Agreement (in the case of a Startup).
The Foundation, in order to execute the Program, makes available to the Applicant and Startup the data of the persons designated by the Foundation to execute the Program and cooperate with the Applicant and/or Startup. The Applicant and Startup are obliged to process this data in accordance with the provisions of the law on personal data protection.

§ 13. Final provisions

The Startup shall be fully responsible for the actions of its representatives and Participants as for its own actions. The Foundation reserves the right to exclude any Application, Startup and/or Participant at any time if, in the opinion of the Foundation, the assumptions, terms, conditions, processes or rules of the Program have been violated. The Foundation’s decisions are final.
Startup and/or Participants whose behaviour is unethical, illegal and/or may adversely affect the image of the Foundation and/or the Program will be excluded from the Program at the discretion of the Foundation.
The specific liability rules of the Startup and the Participants will be specified in the Acceleration Agreement.
If it becomes necessary to amend the Regulations, the Foundation shall post on the website: startsmartcee.org information about the amendment, the current content of the Regulations and the date from which the amendment applies. Unless the provisions of the new Regulations provide otherwise, the Applications submitted to date shall be considered by the Foundation and the Steering Committee in accordance with the provisions of the amended Regulations.
In the event that it is necessary to make changes to the Application due to changes in the Regulations, the Foundation will inform about it on the website startsmartcee.org and through correspondence to the Email addresses indicated by the Applicants affected by the changes in the Application.
If the Regulations are amended, the Applicant has the right to withdraw from the Program, but no later than the signing of the Acceleration Agreement.
Any disputes arising out of and/or in connection with these Regulations, subject to mandatory provisions of law, shall be resolved by the Polish common courts with jurisdiction over the registered office of the Foundation. The provisions of the Regulations shall be governed by and construed in accordance with Polish law.
These Regulations have been prepared in Polish and English language versions.
In case of any discrepancy between any of the language versions, the Polish language version shall prevail.
If necessary, or if required by applicable law, the Regulations may be updated.
These Regulations shall come into force as of the date of publication.